Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD) Stock Price Down 8.1% – Should You Sell?

Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) shares dropped 8.1% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $222.14 and last traded at $222.94. Approximately 910,583 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 7% from the average daily volume of 974,604 shares. The stock had previously closed at $242.52.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $270.00 price target on shares of Royal Gold in a research note on Sunday, December 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Royal Gold in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Scotiabank downgraded Royal Gold from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $335.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Zacks Research lowered Royal Gold from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $330.00 price objective on shares of Royal Gold in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Royal Gold presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $251.50.

Royal Gold Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.91 and a current ratio of 3.12. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $274.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $224.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.48.

Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The basic materials company reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.68 by ($0.76). Royal Gold had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 11.89%. The company had revenue of $360.85 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $425.47 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.63 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 85.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Royal Gold, Inc. will post 6.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Gold Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 2nd will be paid a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 2nd. Royal Gold’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.90%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director William M. Hayes sold 4,173 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.07, for a total value of $1,156,213.11. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,698,162.03. The trade was a 40.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Daniel Breeze sold 1,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.87, for a total value of $421,218.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 20,140 shares in the company, valued at $6,059,521.80. The trade was a 6.50% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 7,573 shares of company stock worth $2,127,091. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Royal Gold

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of RGLD. Prospera Financial Services Inc bought a new position in shares of Royal Gold in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,068,000. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. boosted its stake in Royal Gold by 275.8% in the third quarter. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. now owns 6,656 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,335,000 after buying an additional 4,885 shares in the last quarter. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP bought a new position in Royal Gold in the second quarter valued at about $1,397,000. Ruffer LLP acquired a new position in Royal Gold during the third quarter worth about $16,636,000. Finally, Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC raised its stake in Royal Gold by 576.4% during the third quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 35,119 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $7,044,000 after acquiring an additional 29,927 shares in the last quarter. 83.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Royal Gold Company Profile

Royal Gold, Inc, headquartered in Denver, Colorado, is a leading precious metals streaming and royalty company. Through its business model, Royal Gold provides upfront financing to mining operators in exchange for the right to purchase a percentage of future metal production at predetermined prices. This structure allows the company to participate in production upside while minimizing exposure to the operating and capital-intensive aspects of mine ownership.

The company’s portfolio encompasses interests in over 200 streams and royalties on projects across North America, South America, Europe, Africa and Australia.